Re-Imagining Christ

Preached by Michael Cheuk
November 25, 2007, Twenty-sixth Sunday in Pentecost
Colossians 1:11-20

On July 13, USA Today reported that starting in August, some 425 Wal-Mart stores nationwide would begin carrying faith-based action figure toys, including a 12 inch talking Jesus, a hippy looking white man in a white robe.  Now, I haven’t seen that toy in the Wal-Mart store here or on their website, but that made me curious to see what other Jesus action figures are out there for sale.  At amazon.com, I found one for $8.49, described as a hard plastic figure “5 inches tall with poseable arms to reach toward the heavens and wheels in his base for smooth gliding action.”  If you want to upgrade, for $11.99, you can buy the Deluxe Jesus Action Figure, Miracle Edition.  The company describes the product this way: “There is no action figure more deserving of a deluxe edition than the Son of God. This 5-1/4 inch tall, hard vinyl figure comes with eight amazing plastic accessories: five loaves of bread, two fish and a jug for turning water into wine (not guaranteed to work for real). Also features ‘glow-in-the-dark miracle hands!’”  But wait there’s more!  At the website “we are fishermen dot com”, for $30 each, you can buy a bull-riding Jesus, a biker Jesus (who isn’t wearing a helmet, just a crown of thorns), a football player Jesus (wearing of all things a Dallas Cowboys uniform – now that’s blasphemous right there!), a surfing Jesus, and a skateboard-riding Jesus.  I must say, when I think of Jesus, those are not the images that I have in mind.

There’s one more image of Jesus that I don’t usually have in mind.  However, the Bible frequently describes Jesus using this image.  It is the image of Christ the King.  Today is Christ the King Sunday on the Christian calendar, and many churches around the world are celebrating the kingship and rule of Jesus Christ.  But for many of us American Christians, even though we use the language of “king” to describe Jesus Christ, I think it can be hard for us to relate to this image.  After all, we live in a republic, not a monarchy.  In the United States, we have a representative democracy, where the citizens have a say in how they are governed.  Often, we think of kings and kingdoms as oppressive and tyrannical.  We fought a war of independence to free ourselves from a king.  So, the image of a “king” is not necessarily the most positive image for many of us.  And the image of Christ the King like the one printed on our bulletin seems quaint.  Furthermore, in everyday life, we never talk about kings and kingdoms, except in church, when we say “thy Kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, or when we sing a hymn like “O Worship the King.”  But let’s be honest, even though we talk about Christ as king in church, the kingship of Christ does not usually have a lot of application in our everyday lives.

Stand Firm

Preached by Michael Cheuk
November 11, 2007, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Pentecost
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

I’ve got a question for you this morning.  Have you ever had a time when you were totally gripped by panic and fear?  I remember one time, when I was six years old, my Dad, my uncle and I were taking the Star Ferry from the island of Hong Kong to go back home to Kowloon on the Chinese mainland.  In the jostling of people as we waited for our ferry, somehow I lost track of my dad and uncle.  As I frantically looked for my dad, all I could see was a jumbled forest of legs and unfamiliar faces.  And then I heard the announcement that the ferry to Kowloon was about to leave and everyone should come aboard.  But I still couldn’t find my dad and uncle, and I was so scared that they would board the ferry without me.  Fear turned into panic, and panic turned into tears. And the harder I tried to find my dad, the more confused I became. I was about to miss the boat and I wondered if my dad and uncle would miss me.  I finally gave up and just cried, and my stomach had that terrible empty feeling terrorized by the thought that I would never see my family again.  Thankfully, a gentle hand took hold of my hand, and through my tear-stained eyes, I looked up to see the familiar face of my uncle. He led me to my dad, and my dad scooped me up into his arms, and everything in the world was all right again.

This is the closest personal experience that I’ve had that might approximate what those early Christians felt in Thessalonica when this letter was written to them.  For you see, in that church, there was an expectation that Jesus was coming back very, very soon.  And whether through a false prophet, or a report or a letter-somehow word got around that Jesus had already returned, that the day of the Lord had come and gone, and they had missed the boat.  Understandably, those Christians panicked, and Paul had to send a letter to correct misunderstandings and to calm things down.  The letter contained good news and bad news.  The good news was that Jesus had not returned yet.  The bad news was that the day of Jesus’ return was not coming until things in the world got really, really bad.

Being Worthy of God’s Calling

Preached by Michael Cheuk
November 4, 2007, Twenty-third Sunday in Pentecost
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Today is All Saint’s Sunday on the Christian calendar. It is a day for remembering and giving thanks for all the saintly people both living and dead whom God has placed in our lives and in the history of Farmville Baptist Church. And I think it is especially appropriate that we celebrate a baptism today, because it is a reminder that in our baptisms, we join that “cloud of witnesses” described in Hebrews chapter 12, describing the saints who persevered and have already completed the race of faith. In light of this, it is also appropriate that the Revised Common Lectionary assigned this passage from the book of 2 Thessalonians. This book was a letter sent to the church that was planted by Paul, Silas, and Timothy during the middle of Paul’s second missionary journey as recorded in Acts 17. This church was birthed in a hostile setting, but it persevered and flourished even in the face of open resistance. This letter was written in part to encourage that church to keep the faith and to persevere in the midst of trials and difficulties.

For my message today, I would like for you to imagine with me Paul, Silas and Timothy writing a letter to Farmville Baptist Church based on today’s passage. On this All Saint’s Sunday, on this baptism Sunday, perhaps this is what they might have to say to us this morning.

To the church of Farmville Baptist in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

We are writing this letter to you like the way parents would write a letter to their grown child. And my, how you have grown! We remember when you were just a baby, when you were first planted as a church.